1

Amigurumi Basics & Shapes

In this guide we’ll cover amigurumi basics and look at how to create the most common shapes
with ease.
Amigurumi Basics
● The Magic Ring: this is a technique in which you create a ring and work the given
number of stitches inside before cinching the center of the ring closed. It’s used to begin
nearly every amigurumi project. Video Tutorial
● Working in the round: the biggest distinction between working in the round and
working flat is that you don’t turn your work in the round. Generally, you’ll be working in
a continuous spiral of rows using a stitch marker to note the beginning of each row.
However, you can also work in the round by slip stitching to join each row. Here’s the
difference:

● Increasing/Decreasing: shaping something 3D like amigurumi involves lots of increasing

and decreasing (more on the specifics below). To increase, you work 2 stitches into the
same space. To decrease, you combine 2 stitches into one. The invisible decrease is
common in amigurumi and is worked like this:
○ Insert your hook into the front loop of the next stitch, then insert your hook into
the front loop of the following stitch, yarn over and pull through the first loop (3
loops on the hook), then yarn over and pull through all 3 loops on the hook.
○ Commonly abbreviated to inc or dec (dec can also be written: sc2tog).
● Right Side vs Wrong Side: the ‘right side’ is the side of your work that you want facing
outward while the ‘wrong side’ is the side you want facing the inside of your work.
Generally the ‘right side’ can be identified by the ‘v’ shape of regular (yarn over) single
crochet or the ‘x’ shape of cross (yarn under) single crochet.

©2023 cbfiberworks. This guide is for personal use only and not allowed to be redistributed, resold, or shared. All
rights reserved.
 2
● Yarn Over vs Yarn Under: this is totally a personal preference. Yarning under creates
tighter, ‘x’ shaped stitches, resulting in a cleaner look that actually uses less yarn.
○ Yarn Over Single Crochet: insert your hook into the next stitch, yarn over and pull
up a loop, yarn over and pull through both loops on your hook.
○ Yarn Under Single Crochet: insert your hook into the next stitch, yarn under and
pull up a loop, yarn under and pull through both loops on your hook.

● Tools: making amigurumi requires specific tools that you would not need for other kinds
of projects. This includes, stuffing (polyfil for example), stitch markers, safety eyes,
embroidery thread, tapestry needles, sewing/quilting pins, etc… For more information
on tools check out this blog post.

©2023 cbfiberworks. This guide is for personal use only and not allowed to be redistributed, resold, or shared. All
rights reserved.
 3
Common Amigurumi Shapes

Flat Circle:
Rnd 0: MR6
Rnd 1: inc 6 times. (12)
Rnd 2: [inc, sc] 6 times. (18)
Rnd 3: [sc, inc, sc] 6 times. (24)
Rnd 4: [inc, 3sc] 6 times. (30)
Rnd 5: [2sc, inc, 2sc] 6 times. (36)

Sphere
Rnd 0: MR6
Rnd 1: inc 6 times. (12)
Rnd 2: [inc, sc] 6 times. (18)
Rnd 3: [sc, inc, sc] 6 times. (24)
Rnd 4: [inc, 3sc] 6 times. (30)
Rnd 5-9: sc around. (30)
Rnd 10: [dec, 3sc] 6 times. (24)
Rnd 11: [sc, dec, sc] 6 times. (18)
Rnd 12: [dec, sc] 6 times. (12)
Rnd 13: dec 6 times. (6)
For spheres, you’ll always increase to your
desired width, work several regular rounds
(usually an odd number like 3 or 5) and then
decrease in the mirror image of your
increases.

Cone (Steep Variation)

Rnd 0: MR6
Rnd 1: sc around. (6)
Rnd 2: inc, 5sc. (7)
Rnd 3: sc around. (7)
Rnd 4: inc, 6sc. (8)
Rnd 5: sc around. (8)
Rnd 6: inc, 7sc. (9)
Rnd 7: sc around. (9)
Rnd 8: inc, 8sc. (10)
Rnd 9: sc around. (10)
By only increasing by 1 stitch every other
Rnd, you’ll create a very steep slope to your
cone.

©2023 cbfiberworks. This guide is for personal use only and not allowed to be redistributed, resold, or shared. All
rights reserved.
 4
Cone (Gradual Variation)
Rnd 0: MR6
Rnd 1: sc around. (6)
Rnd 2: [inc, sc] 3 times. (9)
Rnd 3: sc around. (9)
Rnd 4: [inc, 2sc] 3 times. (12)
Rnd 5: sc around. (12)
Rnd 6: [inc, 3sc] 3 times. (15)
Rnd 7: sc around. (15)
Rnd 8: [inc, 4sc] 3 times. (18)
Rnd 9: sc around. (18)
For a more gradual slope, you can do a few
more increases every other Rnd and your
cone will flare out faster.

Cone (Slow Variation)

Rnd 0: MR6
Rnd 1: sc around. (6)
Rnd 2: inc 6 times. (12)
Rnd 3: sc around. (12)
Rnd 4: [inc, sc] 6 times. (18)
Rnd 5: sc around. (18)
Rnd 6: [inc, 2sc] 6 times. (24)
Rnd 7: sc around. (24)
Rnd 8: [inc, 3sc] 6 times. (30)
Rnd 9: sc around. (30)
Rnd 10: [inc, 4sc] 6 times. (36)
To make a wider cone, you can do full
Rnd 11: sc around. (36)
increases every other Rnd.

Cylinder
Rnd 0: MR6
Rnd 1: inc 6 times. (12)
Rnd 2: [inc, sc] 6 times. (18)
Rnd 3: BLsc around. (18)
Rnds 4-10: sc around. (24)

With cylinders, you’ll increase to the width

you want, then work as many regular rows as
you want until you reach the desired length.

©2023 cbfiberworks. This guide is for personal use only and not allowed to be redistributed, resold, or shared. All
rights reserved.
 5
Short Rows
Rnd 0: MR6
Rnd 1: inc 6 times. (12)
Rnd 2: [inc, sc] 6 times. (18)
Rnd 3: [sc, inc, sc] 6 times. (24)
Rnd 4: [inc, 3sc] 6 times. (30)
Rnd 5: [2sc, inc, 2sc] 6 times. (36)
Row 6: 12sc, ch 1, turn. (12)
Row 7: 12sc, ch 1, turn. (12)
Row 8: dec, 8sc, dec, ch 1, turn. (10)
Row 9: dec, 6sc, dec, ch 1, turn. (8)
Rows 10-11: 8sc, ch 1, turn. (8)
Rnd 12: sc around the entire edge. (42) Short rows are flat rows worked on a round
Rnds 13-15: sc around. (42) item, leaving some stitches unworked.
They’re used to create curves and more
complex shaping. They’re marked in the teal
yarn in this example.

Bonus Tips
● Back Loop/Front Loop: generally you’ll work under both loops as you make an
amigurumi, but if you want your shape to flare in or out quickly, using either the back or
front loops can do that. The cylinder above is an example of a shape quickly changing
direction. You can also work into a single loop in order to leave the other loop open for
working into later. One example is Sia the Strawberry Squid, where you leave the front
loops open to work the tentacles into later.
● Inc/Dec Notes: every time you increase your shape will flare outward and everytime you
decrease your shape will flare inward. Plus, the more inc/dec that are bunched together,
the more dramatic the shape change will be. If you evenly distribute your increases, like
with the cone examples above, you’ll end up with a pretty even overall shape. However,
if you were to work all your increases on one side of the cone, for example, the shape
would look more tilted or curved. Here’s an example of a shaping experiment I’m
working on:
○ Using the green yarn as both a stitch marker and an indicator of where my center
is, I played with combining increases & decreases to create curves in different
directions without the use of short rows.

©2023 cbfiberworks. This guide is for personal use only and not allowed to be redistributed, resold, or shared. All
rights reserved.